Burial Ground, Garranes, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Burial Grounds

Burial Ground, Garranes, Co. Kerry

Tucked into the north-eastern corner of what appears to be an ancient rath, or enclosed ringfort, a small rectangular burial ground at Garranes holds its dead without a single name.

The graves are marked by plain sandstone slabs, oriented north to south, bearing no inscription of any kind. What they do carry, as noted by local researcher Dennehy in 1997, are natural veins of quartz running through the stone, a detail that feels less incidental the more you consider how frequently quartz appears at prehistoric and early medieval burial sites across Ireland, seemingly placed or chosen with deliberate intent.

The site measures roughly fourteen metres north to south and nine metres east to west, its boundaries formed by the surviving lower courses of a stone wall along its southern and western sides, a low earthen bank to the north, and a slight scarp to the east, the upper half of which retains its stone facing. A tree-lined terrace, about four metres wide, runs along the outside of that eastern edge. The interior slopes gently downward toward the east, and the western wall has largely disappeared beneath dense overgrowth. The ground was already identified as a burial place by the time the Ordnance Survey mapped it in 1846. Its function, according to Dennehy, was that of a ceallúnach, the Irish term for an unconsecrated burial ground used specifically for unbaptised children. These sites, found across Ireland, sit outside the rites and spaces of the official Church, and were often located at the margins of older, pre-Christian enclosures, as is the case here. The association between a probable rath and a children's burial ground suggests layers of use across a very long period, the living community repeatedly returning to a place already marked as significant.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Burial Ground, Garranes, Co. Kerry. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement